


Night became day

by Just_looking_for_fanfictions



Category: The Last Unicorn (1982)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Eventual Romance, F/M, Magic, Unicorns, kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:13:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24021130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_looking_for_fanfictions/pseuds/Just_looking_for_fanfictions
Summary: Magic has a funny way of working.The unicorn has spent centuries on her own, so has de magician.
Relationships: Schmendrick & Unicorn | Lady Amalthea, Schmendrick/Unicorn | Lady Amalthea
Comments: 10
Kudos: 11





	Night became day

She would never know why that day as soon as she woke up, the unicorn decided to walk the forest, why she traced every corner, touched every plant, or why after she stepped out of the shade of the border trees, she became a woman once more.

The world is no longer the same as it used to be. And she hopes to spend centuries getting to know it a new. Her lilac forest it protected from the world by magic and the off chance she meets another unicorn such as herself, she realizes she has stepped on another shrouded place. Civilizations rise and fall before her eyes, wars are waged by love and hate alike, tyrants are killed, artists are born, and some are blessed by her presence, becoming both muse and model for their work. 

Along her travels east, she meets a man a lot like prince Lir, he is kind and well meaning, his name reminds her of the sea. Amalthea tags along with his group of spice merchants for months, healing the sick in whatever town they stop in, entertaining everyone who is willing to listen to beautiful tales of spells and magic. He believes her when she tells him she is a unicorn; says she could be nothing but. She hides herself, yet never lies about the truth of who she is. Not many men think like this anymore, so Amalthea, herself is surprised by this statement, people usually assume she is jesting but she cannot help but think that he does not really understand what she means. He kisses her that night, and although she does not push him away, the lady is gone by morning.  
Years later, she meets a woman and her daughter. They live some place in the desert surrounded by nothing but sand and the occasional traveler. Their town was wiped out by a plague months before, leaving them to their own devices. The little girl is sick when Amalthea arrives in a traveler’s cart looking for a well to fill the water cans and rest his camels. At night she hears the mother plead for help to whomever is listening, the old man traveler left before sundown but Amalthea stays. It is the first time in decades that she returns to her original shape once more. She uses her magic and strength to carry both women through the desert in search of a new home. When they settle in a colony near an oasis, the unicorn touches the little girl’s forehead with her horn, curing her disease and leaves, turning back into a woman not long after. 

They begin and they end, and the world changes again. It has been a long time since she was last in Ireland, and when she returns to her beloved forest, the lady finds a small town has settled nearby.  
Humans seem to have forgotten about magic, they no longer fear the creatures of the night or the consequences of their actions regarding nature. Amalthea is sure the land will take its revenge eventually, but for now she decides she will live the life of a young woman in this modern times.  
She blends into the life of humans easily. No one questions where the beautiful, fair haired lady came from or where she goes. She disappears at night, goes to heal the land around them. During the day she visits the shops and restaurants. Amalthea finds that she particularly likes the tea, from a small coffee shop she discovered, and is not at all surprised when her favorite things to eat become their sweets and pastries. She also likes reading books from the secondhand store she favors. Literature has changed, it is bolder now. People who would have been burnt for heretics or perverted, are considered renowned authors in this day and age. Ironically, her favorite books are those about love. She often, finds herself reading them under the stars, siting by an old tree on a field near the outskirts of town, where travelers start or end their journeys, hiding beyond the tall grass. 

It is here, when she finally feels somewhat lonely, that she finds him again. She feels him approaching before she sees him, so she stands up. A lone figure, walking under the moonlight towards the lilac forest. Amalthea knows that he can see it, just like he could see her for what she was when other mortals could not. He stops walking when he feels eyes upon his shape and hesitates. The unicorn waits for him to raise his head, to turn and look at her for the first time in centuries. He looks so very much the same and yet, different from what she remembered. He looked handsome in the fashion of the time, she thought. He wore a light blue shirt and a dark blue coat with black pants and boots, not unlike what he wore that morning when they last saw each other. His hair looked different, but nice. When he finally looked at her, he seemed stunned. Wondering what he thought of her modern clothes or her human appearance, Amalthea took a step towards him, and then another, the man continued to look at her in shock, but that did not stop her from approaching.  
They stand in front of each other, unmoving. Amalthea notices he feels conflicted because of the way his eyes roam her face, like she is just an illusion.

-Magician- she finally says as a greeting. That seems to shake him out of his state of shock. He smiles, a crooked glad smile and bows slightly.

-My lady.

Amalthea smiles brightly, taken by a wave of joy. Schmendrick is here, he is alive. They both start laughing and night fades into day.

It is weird how easily they fall back into a routine. They bicker and joke like old friends. The townspeople seem as uninterested by him, as they were when the unicorn first arrived to town. Amalthea shows Schmendrick all her favorite places, they eat chocolate filled pastries in the coffee shop she likes, while he tells her about what he is been doing all these years. She smiles at his tales, praises his magic for all it’s become, laughs when he blushes and speaks of all the mishaps as well, when the story ends she is flushed and out of breath, he blushes once more. 

He disappears sometimes during the day, goes off to explore on his own, but always comes back. Today the magician proposes they walk her forest and she is more than willing to join him. Amalthea is glad to know more about his past. Schmendrick spent a lot of years working in Haggard’s kingdom after the unicorn left. He then went overseas to a land unknown; on a ship he is not sure how he got in. 

-It is amazing, my lady- he said as he steps in front of her, wonder in his eyes -their magic is unlike anything I’d seen before!  
He tells her about the tribes he met and all the trouble in which he got himself. 

-It is um... I am rather ashamed to say b-but it happens and uhm, while I was studying with the shamans, a-and controlling my magic, learning! To control it, the... daughter of the chief, she... took a fancy for me, it was uhm, quite scandalous! Almost lost my life because of it! I... I was not interested, and I tried to... but she just wouldn’t... understand. Her father well, they were going to sacrifice me because of it, burn me alive- he continued recounting after that, but Amalthea kept thinking about that story and the girl, not quite sure how to feel.

-Prince Lir...- he said after a while. 

Schmendrick does not know how to feel regarding her moods. He finds they have changed a lot since they last met. She is more impulsive, driven by her thoughts and passions in a way that only a unicorn such as herself could be. He thinks she is beautiful. He is afraid to hurt her, but the lady only nods her head and waits for him to continue.

-He was a great king- Amalthea had no doubt- he turned Haggard’s kingdom into something completely different. He was good to his subjects, to Molly and me. We never needed anything.

-Molly...? - asked Amalthea, unsure of what she wanted to know 

-She worked in the castle. Not because Lir made her, we were guests, but because she liked to boss around everyone in the kitchen.

The lady could not help but giggle at that, thinking fondly of her friend. She could see the magician was not telling her something, so she raised her eyebrows and waited.

-The prince. He married a woman from the town, and they had three children. I... I just...

-I am glad. Hope they were very happy.

Schmendrick looked at her for a while, searching her eyes for something to give away her true feelings, but he found nothing. The unicorn simply smiled, and they continued their walk.  
When the pair were near the border trees of the forest, they heard some music. A fun upbeat song was being played by guitars and other instruments and they were curious to know why. 

On a small clearing surrounded by beautiful chestnut trees, located behind some houses from the town, was a beautiful wedding. The place was decorated with warm string lights, on every table a base filled with wildflowers, a nice band playing music upon a small stage and a couple, who were clearly very much in love.  
As they approached, they saw a lot of people dancing happily and having fun. 

-Want to dance? - asked Amalthea with her hand raised for Schmendrick to take.

Schmendrick blushed and nervously looked at her, the dance floor and then to the ground, fidgeting with his hands.

It occurred to her, at that very moment, that he had not touched her, not since he had come back to her. The unicorn felt odd about how much she wanted him to. 

Before the magician could say anything, Amalthea took his hand in her own and lead him to de dance floor. At first Schmendrick felt incredibly awkward amongst the rest of the dancers, watched, and judged. He did not let go of Amalthea’s hand even when she started dancing. After a while and a reassuring smile from the unicorn, he realized that just like they did not care for him when he walked the streets, the people were not bothered by his presence now. The magician danced, hesitantly at first, but then with the same livelihood as the rest of the party guests. They laughed, twirled, and enjoyed each other’s company. When the lady got tired of dancing and stepped out of the dance floor, a woman, who looked suspiciously like the tree the magician had enchanted all those centuries ago, took his hand and pulled him in as her new partner.  
Amalthea could not help but laugh at how Schmendrick was being practically dragged around by the woman in their dancing. She had him completely pressed against her bosom, feet barely touching the floor, the man was helpless in her embrace. He kept looking towards the unicorn, trying to get her to help him out of this mess. Amalthea saw these signs; she just did not feel like helping him just yet.  
As the song was about to end and Schmendrick still couldn’t rid himself of the woman, Amalthea felt mercy and decided to join him once more on the dance floor, clamming him as her partner and freeing the magician from the awkward situation he was in.  
A beautiful slow song started, and the bride and groom stepped on the dance floor for the first time. As they began dancing, Schmendrick noticed that the sun had finished setting over the horizon, and stars now covered the sky. He looked down at Amalthea and saw that she was watching the couple.

“How can she stand here and be ignored by the people, when she is the loveliest woman of them all, what powerful magic she must be using to hide herself” he thought as he stared. The unicorn must have noticed she was being watched, because she turned, and her eyes met with those of the young man by her side. Other couples started joining the newlyweds on the dance floor. The magician extended his hand towards the unicorn and smiled nervously.

-Would you care for a dance my lady? - he said looking into her eyes. Amalthea smiled elated and placed her hand on his.

-It would be my pleasure, Schmendrick. 

It was the first time she had called his name since they met again and when she said it, he felt a shock run though his spine, all the way to his feet.  
They walked into the dance floor; Amalthea placed one hand on his shoulder while the other remained in his. Schmendrick hesitantly placed his other hand on her waist and brought her a little bit closer for the dance.  
Some kind of magic was a float that night. As they danced, they said nothing and yet there was no need, because he knew, and she knew, and they were here together. Hours turned into minutes and only when they stopped dancing did, they realize that they were alone. 

-Come with me, magician- said Amalthea pulling him along with her towards the tall grass 

They walked and talked some more until they arrived under the tree where they had first seen each other again. They sat down on the ground and gassed up at the stars.

-I had a thought- said the lady as the magician turned to look at her- in my head, I called you young, a beautiful young man and yet you are not, you are old, in some ways like I am. 

-I am here- he said turning his body towards her- somehow, I have lived. I have been at death door many times, but someone has seen fit to keep me, and through magic I have been saved. 

-You are here.

Amalthea placed one of her hands on his cheek, tilting his face towards her. His jaw fit perfectly in her hand, and she avoided his eyes by looking at his lips, parted under her finger. The magician looked at her beautiful eyes, visions reflecting on them, and he blushed as she ran her thumb over his lower lip. He felt as if he could not breathe but any breath, he could have held definitely left him when they finally locked eyes. She watched him from beneath dark think lashes as he took a deep breath. Without warning, rhyme, or reason, she pressed her lips, delicately, against his own in a kiss.  
Schmendrick was frozen in place, hands in the air, eyes wide open. He had wanted this so much, all those years ago that now he knew not what to do. Amalthea looked at his shocked face, before closing her own eyes. This kiss was different, it felt different from what she knew. She finally felt the magician’s hands rest on her arms after a while and decided to break the kiss. The man looked completely flushed, eyes wide open searching her face. Amalthea herself could feel warmth on her cheeks and guessed she must be blushing. 

-I... I, can I- he tried to say before he took a deep breath, finding the courage he did not feel, and kissed her again.

This time the magician cupped her face in his hands and closed his eyes, enjoying every second. The unicorn smiled and placed her hands on his chest. It was a tender, loving, passionate kiss, filled with magic and a history entirely their own.  
“Fate” a fleeting thought without owner. 

When they finally parted, the pair smiled at one another. Schmendrick ran his fingers through her hair while Amalthea pressed her hands against the collar of his shirt. They laughed and laid under the stars.

Night became day, and for the first time in very long time, both magician and unicorn slept.

**Author's Note:**

> This fandom does not have nearly enough pieces of fiction for my heart to be okay, especially this ship.
> 
> When I first saw the movie, I was left waiting for something to happen between Schmendrick and Amalthea. I was so mad she chose Lir as her romantic interest, he doesn’t even do anything for her, yes, he kills a dragon, but its not like she wanted him to, she is actually upset by it! And yes, he fights for her in the end but like, he is already involved by then… ugh.  
> I don’t think there will ever be enough time for me to make peace with the ending, but that is what fanfiction is for.  
> I re-read a peace I really liked last week and decided that I needed to contribute to the fandom as well, so here it is.  
> Do tell me in the comments what you thought of it, and if you know of more Schmendrick/Amalthea fanfictions I should go looking for.


End file.
